Gate



9 3- T; E. BROWN 2,309,381

GATE

, File d March 2, 1940' 2 Sheets-Sheet l MN lllllllll \I INVENTOR.

7" 1 10/7703 Brow/2.

AT'I'ORNEY Jan. 26, 1943.

T. E. BROWN GATE Filed March 2, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. 7750/7206 5 Eran m ATTORNEY.

Patented Jan. 26, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GATE Thomas E. Brown, New York, N. Y. Application March 2, 1940, Serial No. 321,895

01. eta-s7) 4 Claims.

The invention relates to improvements in gates, for example, tollgates or like movable barriers, and is especially suitable in connection with toll-collecting lanes of toll roads and toll bridges and at watchmans stations of private roads, etc., for the purpose of diverting traflic or temporarily obstructing it.

Such gates or barriers are usually mounted to swing about a vertical axis and through an horizontal are between extreme positions of open, in which the traffic road or lane is clear and traflic may pass, and closed, in which trafiic is obstructed. Various means have heretofore been employed for latching such gates in each of the two extreme positions. Such means have consisted of latches, hooks or bars engaging some part of the toe or swinging end of the gate, or vertical recesses or depressions into which the gate or some part of it sets in the extreme positions, Such recesses, etc., are usually at the heel or pivoted end.

Where latches are employed at or near the toe, it is necessary to provide additional fixed constructions, such as posts, to support or'engage the latches. In the case of adjacent tolllanes,

as on toll plazas, such-fixed constructions make widening of the entire plaza necessary in order to provide the required trafiic clearances between the fixed constructions and the curbs of the traffic lanes.

Where latches are applied to intermediate parts of the gate arm, the latch mechanism is usually of flimsy construction to permit ease of handling; or, if of substantial construction, it is cumbersome and unwieldy. In either case, rigid latching is diflicult to obtain.

With recesses or depressions provided at or near the heel, the entire gate mustbe lifted to disengage it from the recess to accomplish unlatching. In such cases, in order to keep the load to be lifted to a desired minimum, the construction of the gate arm must be light and consequently of a design inadequate to resist the heavy cantilever loads to which the gate may be subjected, which loads are occasioned by high winds or by careless individuals leaning or sitting upon the end of the gate. Also, on account of the cantilever design, the center of gravity of the gate is toward the heel end and the gate operator, after lifting the gate, is not in an ad-&

vantageous position, for example, to control its horizontal rotation against a heavy wind.

It is the object of the presentinvention to; provide a gate construction afl'ording operating means whereby the gate is self-latching 1n the extreme positions; also to provide for a latching which shall be positive and rigid.

Another object of the invention is to accomplish the latching and unlatching easily and with a minimum of effort.

Still another object is to provide a construction of gate which will allow the gate operator to assume a convenient position when accomplishing the unlatching, said operation being such as to afford maximum control over the horizontal rotation of the gate arm as well as a position whereby elimination of weight of the gate is not a prime factor in facilitating ease of operation. Thus, a substantial and rugged structural design of gate arm can be employed.

Many and varied designs can be adapted to include the features of the invention, and the materials of construction and their arrangement can be varied to suit particular circumstances.

The nature of the invention, however, will best be understood when described in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a toll plaza illustrating the application of one design of the novel gate and its mechanism to several toll-collecting lanes, one gate being shown in full and two other gates in part onlyall being shown in the closed" position.

Fig, 2 is a plan view of the arrangement indicated in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view, with portions shown in vertical section, of the operating mechanism of the gate and a preferred method of support.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken on the line 4-4, Fig. 3 of the drawings, and looking in the direction of the arrows; and Fig. 5 is a similar view taken on the line 5-5.

Figs. 6 and 7 are respectively plan views of upper and lower supporting brackets for the gate.

Fig. Sis an enlarged view, partly in vertical section, of the heel portion of the gate and shows the position of the mechanism when the gate is in an operative position.

Fig. 9 is a transverse section of the gate arm taken on the line 9-9, Fig, 1 of the drawings.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary plan view of a modifled form of the gate arrangement, more especially in relation to the locking feature.

Referring to the drawings, more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, ll designates the roadway slab of a toll-collecting plaza, l2 an island on the slab which accommodates the house or shelter for the toll collectors and I3 a separating curb .holes 33 in ears of plate 3| and between two traffic lanes of the plaza. It will be seen that island |2 and curb l3 separate the plaza into separate toll-collecting lanes, indicated on the drawings by the reference characters |4, l5, and IS. A suitable vertical support such as a rigid post I1 is provided on the island for mounting of a gate, as hereinafter set forth.

The projecting arm N3 of such gate is indicated as being constructed of wood, and referring more particularly to Fig. 9, is shown as comprising a vertical web member l9 and upper and lower flange members and 20, with vertical stiffening members 2| at intervals. The members are secured to each other by nails, spikes, or screws 22 and the whole is rigidly tied together by means of bolts 23. A handle 24, which may be of any convenient shape, is attached to the free end of the gate arm in any suitable manner for convenience in manipulating the gate. It will be noted that the construction of the gate is such as to giveit great strength against both, vertical and horizontal. loads las well as to give it. considerable torsional resistance.

The gate as a whole is mounted on'the post H to swing in a horizontal .plaiiaas by means of a spindle 25 carrying the gate and held respectivelyby thev upper andlo'wer bearing supports 26 and 21. The support or bracket 26 may be fabricated from a single structural angle, Fig. 6, while support orbracket 21 may be composed of two angles and. a structural plate welded together; Fig. '1, although any other suitable materials or construction may be used.

The spindle 25 is designed to rotate respectively in circular holes or bearings 28 and 23 of the" brackets 25 and 21; The said supports or brackets 26 and 21.are rigidly attached to post H by means of belts or the like; and, as indicated, the brackets may .be paired to accommodate a pair of oppositely directed gates to a single post.

The actual connection of the gate to the spindle is accomplished by means of a bolt 30 which passes horizontally through the said spindle at a point near the upper bearing support 26 and whereby the arm may tilt in a vertical plane. Attached to and forming part of the heel end of the gateis an upper heel plate 3% which is provided with an open slot cut at its closed end to provide considerable clearance about spindle 25 and to provide a sliding fit at the sides of the slot. Bolt 39 passes through ahole 34 in the spindle 25, the hole 34 being dimensioned for a drive fit of bolt 30 and holes 33 of such size as to permit a rotating fit on the bolt.

Rigidly attached to and projecting downwardly from the gate isa latch bar 35, which preferably passes through the top and bottom flange members 20 and 28' and the upper heel. plate 3| and a further and lower heel plate 36, having a bearing fit in the plates. The lower end of said latch bar projects beyond the bottom of the gate and is provided with a beveled face 31, the purpose of which will hereinafter appear. The

spindle has a sliding fit with the sides of a hole or slot 38 of the heel plate, and the ends 39 and 39 of the slot are formed to bear against the spindle to act as stops to limit the tilting of the gate on bolt 39.

Referring to Figs. 3, 5, '7, and 8, lower bearing support or bracket 21 is shown in the form of a segment and has its outer edge 45 formed as a circular are described about the axis of the spindle 25; and at the extreme ends of the arc 40, substantially 90 apart, notches 4| and. 42 are provided therein. Beyond these notches are projections or stops 43 and 44. The edge 40 is finished smooth as a bearing face for sliding motion, and the notches 4| and 42 are finished on their side faces to fit the sides of latch bar 35. The inner faces of notches 4| and 42 are cut to clear the latch bar when the gate is in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 3, with the stop 39 abutting the spindle.

(Jperation and functioning of the gate are as follows: g

When the gate is in the closed position, slrown in Figs. 1 and 3, with the latch bar 35 set into notch 4| and with the weight of the gate tending to rotate it downwardly about the horizontal pivot or bolt 30, rotation in a vertical plane is prevented by the stop 01" slot end 39 abutting the spindle.

When it is desired to open the gate in order to clear a lane and permit traffic to pass, the operator lifts the outer end of the gate arm by means of the handle 24 or by applying his effort directly to the end of the gate, thus tilting the latter vertically about the pivot bolt 33 to the position shown by the dotted lines in which position the latch bar 35 is clear of the notch 4|, as indicated in the dotted line position, Fig. 3. Contact of stop or slot end 39 with the spindle limits the vertical rotation to prevent interference of the gate with upper and lower bearing supports 26 and 21.

In this position a slight horizontal rotation of the gate arm moves latch bar 35 out of opposition to the notch 4| and the gate is then lowered to the position shown in Fig. 8, in which position the face 31 of latch bar 35 makes contact with the circular edge 40 of lower bearing support 21; thus limiting further downward movement. By making the bevel of the face 31 to conform to the angle of tilt, said face will bear evenly upon said circular edge 43. In this position, as shown in Fig. 8, the operator is relieved of the weight of the gate and is free to cause and control its further horizontal rotation to the end of its arc of swing by application of a slight sideways push on the handle 24 or the end of the gate arm. During the horizontal rotation, the face 31 slides over the arcuate face 40 of the support 21 maintaining contact with it and the bolt 30 causes the spindle to rotate in its bearings 28 and 29.

When the gate has reached the open position at substantially the end of the arc, its further horizontal movement is prevented by the side of latch bar 35 coming into contact with stop 44. In this position, the latch bar being no longer in contact with edge 43, it is free to enter notch 42. The gate arm therefore drops, rotating vertically about pivot 30 until the stop 39 of plate 36 again comes in contact with the spindle. The

gate is now latched in this open position by means of its own weight holding latch bar 35 in notch 42.

When it is desired to return the gate to the closed position, the operation is similar, the horizontal motion being reversed and the stop 43 limiting the horizontal travel.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that the gate may be of the substantial construction-shqwn, or of any equal construction, ade- 1 duate to resist not only its'own weight but also any'otherverticalloads that itis likely tobe called upon to-carry,;-.without imposing an undue effort on the part of the operator to effect its operation. .A ls 0 ;the nove1 construction permits of a rugged design of gate arm capable of carrying both vertical and horizontal loads to the support.

While many variations can be made in the form, arrangement and construction of the elements included in the invention, such as elimination of the bevel of the face 37 in latch bar 35 as by changing the angle of the latch bar with respect to the gate or by conforming the face of edge 4!), and although I have shown and described only my preferred form, nevertheless I do not limit myself to any specific arrangement or form of construction.

Moreover, it is possible to economize space, where this is desirable, with duplicate oppositely disposed gate installations, by combining the notch elements of each arm into a single member, as indicated, for example, in Fig. 10 of the drawings. In this embodiment a single lower bearing support or bracket 58 is in the form of a segment subtending somewhat more than.180, each half being provided with the notches 5!, 5| and 52, 52 approximately 90 apart, and the supporting post 53 common to the pair of gates 54, 55 being in this instance located behind the segments instead of between the same. By this expedient, the actual island space required is less and thus allows for a narrower plaza.

I claim:

1. A gate mounting including a rigid support about which the gate is adapted to swing in a horizontal plane, said mounting comprising upper and lower supporting bracket members extending laterally from the support and aiiording coaxial, vertically displaced bearings, one of said members having an outwardly directed, horizontally disposed segment with circular edge provided with notches displaced along its circumference, a rotatable spindle passing through said bearings and carried by the bracket members in a fixed vertical axis, means for supporting the gate on said spindle adapted to prevent relative motion between the gate and spindle in a horizontal plane and including means pivotally connecting the gate to one end of the spindle to pivot the former on the latter for angular movement in a vertical plane, and means movable with the gate for engagement with the circular edge of said segment and a selected one of the notches therein.

2. A gate mounting including a rigid support about which the gate is adapted to swing in a horizontal plane, said mounting comprising upper and lower supporting bracket members extending laterally from the support and affording coaxial, vertically displaced bearings, the lower of said members having an outwardly directed, horizontally disposed segment with circular edge provided with notches displaced along its circumference, a rotatable spindle passing through said bearings and carried by the bracket members in a fixed a fixed vertical axis, means for supporting the gate on said spindle adapted to prevent relative motion between the gate and spindle in a horizontal plane and including means pivotally conthe gate to the upper end of the spindle to pivot the former on the latter for angular movement in a vertical plane, a slotted element extending rearwardly from the heel of the gate at the bottom, the spindle passing through the slot of said element, the ends of the slot serving as stops to limit the said angular movement of the gate through contact with said spindle, together with means at the bottom of the gate adapted for engagement with the circular edge of said segment and a selected one of the notches therein.

THOMAS E. BROWN. 

